Castel Sant'Angelo & Ponte Sant'Angelo

Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo

An emperor's tomb turned fortress, best for its rooftop view

⚠ Closed Mondays; named tickets

Hours

Tue–Sun 09:00–19:30 (last entry 18:30). Closed Mondays, 1 Jan and 25 Dec (in 2026, open 14:00–20:00 on the first Monday of each month)

Tickets

Adults €18 (from 1 July 2026); EU citizens 18–25 €2; under-18s free. Named tickets

Address

Lungotevere Castello 50 on the Tiber; cross the angel-lined Ponte Sant'Angelo and you are at the gate

Built as Emperor Hadrian's tomb, the round fortress later became a papal refuge and a prison before turning into a museum. A spiral ramp leads up to frescoed papal apartments, and on the terrace under the bronze angel at the very top St Peter's dome sits straight ahead with the Tiber and the angel bridge below. Plenty of reviewers say that even without going in, watching the castle at sunset from the bridge between Bernini's angels is enough.